Haseeb Hameed ruled out of rest of the tour of India after England opener suffers finger injury

Injured | Haseeb Hameed
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Chris Stocks29 November 2016

Haseeb Hameed will miss the rest of England’s tour of India with a hand injury — despite battling through to score a defiant half-century today during his side’s eight-wicket defeat in the Third Test.

The 19-year-old opener will fly home tomorrow to have a metal plate inserted into his left hand after he was struck by fast bowler Umesh Yadav on the first morning of this Test.

That makes his innings today all the more remarkable, Hameed (right) batting for 156 balls as he compiled an unbeaten 59 from No8 to help England post 236 in their second innings.

That left India needing just 103 to win, a target they chased down in 20.2 overs for the loss of just Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara.

England are now 2-0 down in the series with two Tests to play in Mumbai and Chennai.

And their attempts to win both and claim a series draw were given a hammer blow by the news of Hameed’s absence.

Captain Alastair Cook said: “Unfortunately he has got to go home. It’s a real shame.

“To play like that is testament to his courage and bravery.

“Haseeb was a positive — to show such courage and bravery to play like he did after breaking his hand.

“It has been a frustrating four days, but credit to India, they deserved to win.”

India captain Virat Kohli also paid tribute to Hameed’s bravery. “I wish him a speedy recovery,” he said. “He showed great character for a 19-year-old, put his hand up when his team needed him to. He also showed great maturity to bat like that. That’s why I patted him on the back.”

Within the next 24 hours, England will call up a member of the Lions squad in the UAE, with Durham’s Keaton Jennings, Middlesex’s Nick Gubbins, Daniel Bell-Drummond, of Kent, and Essex’s Tom Westley all in contention.

The tourists now have nine days before the Fourth Test starts in Mumbai on December 8. That gives whoever replaces Hameed (below) time to prepare properly.

Yet the situation is not ideal given the state of the series and how impressive Hameed has been so far in his three Tests to date. The youngster only made his debut in the series opener in Rajkot, where he scored a second-innings 82 to signal his class at the highest level.

Cook was frustrated with the performance from his team in this match that saw them post just 283 batting first. He said: “To get bowled out for 280-odd in the first innings, we knew we were behind the eight ball. India outplayed us.”

England players will have six days off now before beginning their preparations for the Mumbai.

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